KLCS, KCET Team Up to Sell Spectrum

BURBANK and LOS ANGELES — KLCS and KCET have agreed to share a 6 MHz channel so the other can be offered up in next year’s spectrum incentive auction. Participating TV stations will take a yet-#ff0000 cut of the auction proceeds. KCET and KCLS are both public TV stations serving the nation’s second largest market.

The two stations this week announced an agreement to share a 6 MHz designation with the unanimous approval of KCET’s board and the L.A. Unified School District’s Board of Education, which holds the license to KLCS. Both stations will continue to operate under noncommercial licenses, and be afforded the same interference protections as non-shared licensees, according to Federal Communications Commission rules.

KLCS was involved in a channel-sharing experiment earlier this year with Ventura, Calif.-based KJLA, finding it feasible but limited.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler issued the following statement regarding the agreement: “I’m pleased Los Angeles stations KCLS and KCET have reached an agreement to share spectrum following the first-ever incentive auction. When I visited KCLS last spring, I was impressed that channel sharing worked so seamlessly and opened the door to new business models for broadcasters. It’s a compelling opportunity for broadcasters to continue their existing business on a shared channel, and take home a check for the spectrum they relinquish in the incentive auction. It is my hope that other broadcasters give it careful consideration as well.”

The Board of KCETLink, licensee of public TV station KCET, and the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, licensee of PBS member station KLCS, approved a memorandum of understanding to move forward with a channel-sharing partnership in an effort to participate in the FCC's incentive auction.

One of the key concerns emerging over the planned 2014 TV spectrum incentive auction is who can participate—and how. That’s not in terms of which broadcasters will or will not throw in their 6 MHz licenses, but rather how much spectrum AT&T and Verizon will be allowed to win.